finding calm in the chaos of FASD

FASD: Common Messaging

Over the last few months, the 99 Days to 9/9 FASDay series of infographics created in 2017 has been re-shared on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. Some updates were made along the way, but for Days 82, 83 and 84 I changed the focus for 2018 when I came across The Canada FASD Research Network’s CanFASD Common Messages document.

According to CanFASD:

The purpose of this document is to assist those writing and talking about people with FASD or the issues related to the disability to use the same statistics, framing of topics, and language. The outcome over time will be an improved understanding by the reader/listener with consistently using these suggestions. This is a living document and areas will be updates as it is informed by the research.

If you are looking for suggestions on how to write about FASD, I encourage you to have a look (link above). It contains sections on:

Prevalence

Statistics

Terminology and Language

Legal Issues and

Emerging Research.

While some information is specific to Canada, there is a lot of general information that can be used in different countries.

The information shared in 2017 for Days 82, 83 and 84 is still relevant, I just felt this information was important, leading up to International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Day. You can still find the original 2017 info graphics at:

Another great resource when talking about FASD is the Language Guide created by a working group from the Manitoba FASD Coalition called Looking After Each Other. You can download a copy of the guide, or check out the days it was featured: